This morning I was one of a throng of Obama supporters chanting outside the ABC set-up during Good Morning America. There were tons of us. I'm not good at counting crowds, but to the best I can, I'd say about 100 - or quite possibly more. And this is pretty indicative of what I've seen the last few days. Obama seems to have the biggest and best organized ground game in New Hampshire. There are Rudy and Ron Paul people on the streets too, and the McCainiancs are passionate - but we seem a set apart.
Big example for this morning - ABC actually pulled the few Hillary Clinton fans around us up to the front of the crowd so it would look more competitive. Make of that what you will (I'd call it media favoritism, and trying to create political news and a horse race where there's no so much competition, but you might interpret it differently).
The contrast in the crowds is interesting too. Obama's got people from all age groups. Clinton? I don't know if I've seen a single Clinton supporter under 40. She really appears to be yesterday's news. Oh, and I haven't seen an Edwards presence of any kind. Well, his signs are everywhere. But there aren't any people supporting him on the streets.
Put this altogether and even though I tend to be cynical and a pessimist I'll be surprised if Obama doesn't win - and it could well be by a fairly comfortable margin.
And yes as to those celebrity sitings - lots of 'em. And for what it's worth Sam Donaldson looks like he sleeps in a crypt while Ezra Klein ... well, he's a very attractive man.
Final thoughts - this place looooves Billy Joel and classic rock. Concord and Manchester are filled with gorgeous homes. And while much of the area's radio sucks, WFNX is one of the best radio stations I've ever heard.
Posted by armand at January 7, 2008 10:07 AM | TrackBack | Posted to Politics | PoliticsObama was up in the polls, but he didn't win. Now the obvious answer is young people don't matter, they don't vote. But have you considered the possibility that because we know the only possible explanation for Bush winning in 2004 was that he rigged the voting software, he must be working together with the Clintons to ensure they win again in 2008. Think about it. We're in a situation in which no one who isn't named Bush or Clinton has been President for almost 20 years, on the verge another 8 years of Hillary Clinton who'll get blamed at the end of her term for our country's difficulty's at that point. By then, people will idealize the Bush administration, and they'll be more than happy to (at least appear to) vote for Jeb Bush for 8 more years; their dynasty will continue. It's in Revelations, people!
Posted by: Morris at January 9, 2008 11:27 AM | PERMALINKThe trouble with you, Morris, is that your comments are so often batshit-crazy that it's tough to tell when you're being sarcastic.
Posted by: jacflash at January 10, 2008 10:17 AM | PERMALINKI'll just go with sarcastic and take a move along nothing to see here reaction to that comment, b/c, if serious really, wtf?
So yeah Mo, that was hilarious.
Posted by: Armand at January 10, 2008 03:11 PM | PERMALINKJacflash, are you saying that it's sane for people to make a stink about rigged voting software when Bush wins, but not when Hillary wins? Thanks for your confidence, Bro. Does no one get old Simpsons Dan Rather references anymore?
Posted by: Morris at January 10, 2008 11:09 PM | PERMALINKOf course I got the Simpsons reference. It was the stuff before it that earned "wtf". "The only possible explanation ..." - ummm, huh?
As to your reference to this election, it would likely help your case if anyone had reported any evidence of that as a possible cause of the discrepancy from the anticipated outcome. But to my knowledge there have been no reports of any irregularities of that kind, or any suspicion thereof.
Posted by: Armand at January 10, 2008 11:44 PM | PERMALINKMorris: NH doesn't use touch-screen machines. They use optical scanners, just like here in MA. Voters mark paper ballots and then the ballots are scanned. Spot hand-counts of the paper ballots -- which are retained -- confirm that the machines are working properly. There's nothing to "rig", because it's all right there in ink on paper.
So yeah, I think the allegation is ridiculous.
Posted by: jacflash at January 11, 2008 07:21 AM | PERMALINK